Traveling to MLB teams is no big deal. These guys play 162 games a year; packing and unpacking is part of their everyday life. Players have routines, restaurants they frequent and old friends to catch up with. It’s all part of the job. However, when staying at The Pfister Hotel to play against the Milwaukee Brewers, travel takes a terrifying turn for the visiting teams.
A member of Historic Hotels of America, The Pfister Hotel was opened in 1893 by Charles Pfister, the son of leather tycoon Guido Pfister. Th younger Pfister completed his father’s vision of building one of the finest hotels in the West. The luxury establishment is filled with gold leaf frames, a grand marble staircase and European decor.
Beyond The Pfister Hotel's longstanding legacy of luxury, the hotel has also garnered attention for its apparent hauntings. Guests have reported apparitions of Charles Pfister roaming the staircase, knocking, pounding, electronics turning off and on and objects moving. MLB players aren’t immune to the hotel’s spooky shenanigans. Say what you want about ghosts. Maybe you believe in them, maybe you don’t. Enough players have come forward to prove something is up with the historic hotel in downtown Milwaukee. Numerous MLB stars have been scared silly there.
In 2013, Stacey Pressman of ESPN The Magazine spoke to several of the game’s biggest stars about their inexplicable experiences at the Pfister.
Bryce Harper: “One time last summer, before I went to sleep, I laid a pair of jeans and a shirt on that table at the foot of the bed, those things in hotels that you sit on to put on your shoes. I just laid ’em out, simple as that. When I woke up in the morning — I swear on everything — the clothes were on the floor and the table was on the opposite side of the room against the wall. I was so flustered. I honestly thought there might be someone in my room. I had no idea what the hell just happened, so I actually looked around, and then I checked to see if the door was still latched, and it was. I thought someone — maybe [Jayson] Werth — came into my room during the night and moved everything around, and I knew Tyler Moore and Lombo [Steve Lombardozzi] were both near me too, but they said that no one had done anything like that. Now, they could be lying to me. That’s possible, and no one else seemed to have a weird experience, but it really creeped me out. I went downstairs and changed my room immediately. Different room, different floor. I said, ‘I just need to get out of that room. I don’t want to talk about it, I just need to get out.’ So they moved me to a higher floor.”
Giancarlo Stanton: “Man, I hate when we have four games there. Two, three, anything?s better than four. It?s freaky as s—, with the head-shot paintings on the walls and the old curtains everywhere. It reminds me of the Disneyland Haunted House. The less time I’m there, the better."
Mike Cameron: “When somebody tells me when they wake up in the middle of the night out of the blue,” Cameron told MLB.com, “and they feel like somebody’s in the room with them and the door’s wide open, that’s enough to start making different plans.”
Michael Young: “Oh, f— that place. Listen, I’m not someone who spreads ghost stories, so if I’m telling you this, it happened. A couple of years ago, I was lying in bed after a night game, and I was out. My room was locked, but I heard these footsteps inside my room, stomping around. I’d heard all these stories about this hotel, so I was wide awake at that point. And then I heard it again, these footsteps on the floor, so I yelled out, ‘Hey! Make yourself at home. Hang out, have a seat, but do not wake me up, okay?’ After that, I didn’t hear a thing for the rest of the night. I just let him know he was welcome, that we could be pals, that he could marinate in there for as long as he needed to, just as long as he didn’t wake me up.”
Pablo Sandoval: “I don’t like the ghosts there. In 2009 I went to take a shower, and I remember putting my iPod next to a speaker. When I came out, it was playing music, and I have no idea why. I left the hotel after that. I didn’t want to stay there. In 2010 me and Edgar [Renteria] stayed down the street and paid for it on our own. Then last month, I decided to stay there again. I asked myself, ‘Why do I have to be afraid?’ The only thing I asked the ghosts was to let me sleep. And they did.”
Carlos Martinez: "The most recent reported incident came from St. Louis Cardinals players Carlos Martinez and Marcell Ozuna in 2018. Martinez posted an Instagram video talking about the experience. “We are here in Milwaukee,” Martínez said in Spanish in an Instagram video. “I just saw a ghost. In Ozuna’s room, he saw another one.” “We are all here. We are all in Peñita’s [Francisco Peña] room. We are all stuck here. We are going to sleep together…If the ghost shows again, we are all going to fight together.”
Outside of being haunted, the Pfister has all the amenities: a fitness center, an indoor pool, room service, a business center, great views of downtown Milwaukee, Well Spa + Salon and more. Plus, it’s a short eight-minute drive to American Family Field. Some MLB players couldn’t care less. The hauntings have gone far enough where some refuse to stay at the hotel. They’re willing to spend their own money to avoid the voodoo.
Discover the history of The Pfister Hotel and book your stay!
Read the full article from FanBuzz.com here.
About Historic Hotels of America®
Historic Hotels of America is the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation for recognizing and celebrating the finest Historic Hotels. Historic Hotels of America has more than 300 historic hotels. These historic hotels have all faithfully maintained their authenticity, sense of place, and architectural integrity in the United States of America, including 44 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Historic Hotels of America is comprised of mostly independently owned and operated historic hotels. More than 30 of the world’s finest hospitality brands, chains, and collections are represented in Historic Hotels of America. To be nominated and selected for membership into this prestigious program, a hotel must be at least 50 years old; has been designated by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior as a National Historic Landmark or listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places; and recognized as having historic significance.
